Why Pickled Red Onions? The Origins of Boone’s Red Onions

​I love pickled red onions for so many reasons!
 
For one, they harken back to my Polish ancestors. I got started making pickled red onions when I found my Great Aunt Mary’s recipe. Aunt Mary grew up on the family farm in rural northern Vermont (brrrr!). Being Polish farmers, pickling was part cultural tradition, part survival.  I was very close with my Aunt Mary, she took care of me when I was a kid and taught me how to cook. 

She always had a giant jar of pickled red onions in the fridge and she’d put them on everything. She’d say the key to her good health was her long brisk walks and those special red onions. As a kid with a pretty stifled culinary curiosity, I had no interest in trying them despite Aunt Mary’s overtures.
 
After Aunt Mary passed away at the age of 90, I was sorting through her stuff and came across her old well-loved Joy of Cooking cookbook. Flipping through the pages, looking at her little notes in perfect cursive, a clipping fell to the floor. It was the recipe for her marinated red onions! I had to make them.
 
Wow, I couldn’t believe how good those onions were! All those years I rejected them, thinking onions were gross. They quickly became a staple on my dinner table, and I started tinkering with the recipe and sharing with friends. Eight years later, I began this venture, Boone’s Red Onions. Our Classic variety is a variation on my Aunt Mary’s old recipe. I think we’ve got it perfected and I hope you agree!